


Belonging and Estrangement

by therapeuticlobster



Category: Danny Phantom, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Brothers, Danny's adopted, Gen, Yeah it sucks and isn't canon but I couldn't get this out of my head, post PP
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:27:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24739999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therapeuticlobster/pseuds/therapeuticlobster
Summary: Danny finally has it all-the love of his life, amazing friendships, and a family that has fully accepted him. However, all of that gets turned on its head once Danny learns that he is not who he thought he was. Now, he must journey to England to meet his brother and connect with a family that he can never fully know. Post PP, but that's not a central focus of the story.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 81





	1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Madeleine Evans Fenton gazed down into the sparkling blue eyes of the baby she held in her arms. The baby was calm and looking at her in interest, and despite the late hour, remained stubbornly awake. Maddie had been attempting to soothe the baby to sleep for a little over half an hour, and her arms were beginning to grow tired from the effort. Maddie's sister, Lily, had just taken the baby's twin upstairs to be placed safely in his crib for the night. Her husband James, was sitting in the front room, reading the newspaper. Despite how similar the two boys looked, they behaved in very different ways, with sleep habits being just one example. The older twin, Harry, tended to be energetic and cheerful, and he quite enjoyed playing with his parents and their friends. He also usually fell asleep quickly. Harry's behavior was reassuring to Maddie; it showed her that the boy felt no sense of danger at home. The younger twin, Danny, tended to be much quieter than his older brother. However, he had the same sense of peace and serenity that could only come from a happy and loving home.

Maddie knew that her sister and brother-in-law were living in danger, which was the reason she had come to visit for Halloween. Maddie did not completely understand the situation or why Lily and James had suddenly decided to increase the security measures of their home. She supposed that she would understand better if she were more immersed in the Wizarding World, but her knowledge was restricted to what her sister had told her and what she experienced during her visits. All she knew was that there was a wizard who had gone bad, so bad in fact that the members of the Wizarding World refused to speak his name. Lily had explained that he was known for being ruthless and harbored hatred for all those who were not considered "pure-blooded", or wizards who came from long lines of wizard families. From what Maddie understood, Lily was considered to be in greater danger since she came from a non-magical family. Maddie could only imagine what this evil man would think of her, since she had no magical abilities to speak of. Maddie supposed that Lily's lack of a magical family is what put her family at a heightened risk of attack from the man and his followers. Once Maddie had heard that her sister was in danger, she flew out to England from the United States to be with her and provide support in any way she could. Right now, that meant convincing the child she held in her arms to fall asleep.

Maddie thought of her own daughter, a young three-year old with bright red hair. Her heart ached at the thought of the thousands of miles that stood between her and her daughter at the moment. She missed her daughter greatly, but had refused to bring her to visit family due to the inherent danger in the trip. She knew her daughter was safe with her deeply loving father and Maddie's husband, Jack. Her daughter Jasmine was her husband's greatest treasure, and Maddie smiled at the thought of her husband's excitement at the idea of spending a week of uninterrupted time with her daughter. He was probably feeding her too much fudge, to be honest. However, Maddie was not the one who would have to deal with a three-year-old with a sugar rush.

Maddie sighed, looking down at the Danny once more. "Still not tired at all, are you?" She asked him, her own fatigue leaking into her voice. Danny made a cooing noise in response, which Maddie took as a no. She began to walk towards the back of the house, away from the brightly lit front room. She turned towards Lily and James' bedroom, which was a bit darker than where she had just been. She hoped that the darkness would help convince the child to fall asleep.

Just then, a loud BANG came from the front of the house. Maddie froze, clutching the baby in her arms tightly to her chest. For a moment, there was a silence so deep that Maddie felt it deep in her core. Then, she heard James bounding up the stairs, yelling, "Lily! Take Harry and go! It's him! I'll hold him off!" Maddie then heard a cold, chilling voice scream words that she couldn't understand, and she saw a bright green light coming from the front of the house.

Maddie felt her blood run cold once she realized she could no longer her James's footsteps trying to make his way to the upstairs nursery to protect his wife and son. Was this it? Was this what Lily and James had been afraid of?

Maddie looked down once more into Danny's face. Her motherly instincts suddenly came to the forefront of her mind, and she knew she needed to protect this child at whatever cost. Panicking, Maddie looked around the bedroom for somewhere to hide or a way to escape. Spotting a window, she walked as quickly as she dared to open the latch. Maddie flinched when the window squeaked while she slowly pulled it open. Bending down in order to fit through the window and keeping the baby close to her chest, Maddie climbed out of the house. Once her feet hit the grass, she ran.

The baby started to cry, one of the few times she had ever heard him do so. Maddie shushed him as calmly as she could, but her heart was beating fast and her breathing was shallow. Maddie was not sure she was capable of providing comfort to him at the moment. Maddie ran around the block, and slowly came to a stop once she felt she could run no longer. Thoughts chased one another in her mind, each one demanding her attention first. Who was that man? What was it that he had said? What was that green light? Was James alright? Were Harry and Lily safe? What should she do now? Did the wizards have some form of 911 or emergency line she should call?

Maddie continued to hold the baby close to her body, sheltering him as much as she could from the chilly Halloween night air. There was only one thing she knew for sure. She had to protect this baby no matter what.


	2. Chapter 2

Five years had passed, and now little Danny Potter (now Fenton) was turning six. Jack and Maddie Fenton smiled as their nephew opened his birthday presents. The living room was decorated in blue, green, and white streamers, and balloons of every color filled the room. Danny had chosen to invite his two friends from school, Sam Manson and Tucker Foley. Maddie was glad he had found two good friends that he could play with. She and Jack had tried so hard to treat Danny as if he were their own son rather than their nephew, and judging from the child's happiness, they had done fairly well. However, she had worried that Danny would have difficulty making friends in school. Maddie and Jack were well known for being eccentric, and the town at large did not approve of their chosen career. Maddie had to admit that a career as a ghost hunter and researcher seemed a bit out of place in Amity Park, Illinois, but it had brought her and her husband together. Their passion for ectology remained an integral piece of their relationship. Still, their profession had made making friends difficult at times for their daughter, Jazz. After career day, other children had taken to making fun of her because of her parents' jobs. Maddie and Jack had decided that they would participate in career day after that. Although it hurt to be regarded as "weird", their children's safety and happiness was the most important thing to both of them.

Luckily, the same thing did not seem to have happened to Danny. He had made friends quickly and easily on his first day of kindergarten, and the three of them had been inseparable ever since. Maddie and Jack both hoped that this friendship would continue.

"Cool!" Danny shouted as he ripped off the wrapping paper covering his new toy rocket. Danny jumped up and began running around the room with his rocket, pretending to make it fly.

"Danny, don't run in the house!" Maddie ordered, stepping in front of him.

Danny scowled at her. "But, Mommy, I can't make the rocket fly if I'm not running fast enough!" Maddie saw Sam and Tucker nodding in agreement.

Maddie sighed. "Well, I guess you'll just have to use your imagination, dear."

Danny paused. Then, a mischievous smile grew on his face. "Or I could just do this!"

Immediately, Danny cocked his arm back and threw the toy rocket. Maddie gasped and prepared to scold her son. However, her attention was snatched away when she noticed the rocket had not fallen to the ground yet. The toy was moderately heavy and should have fallen immediately. Maddie watched in amazement as the toy rocket circled around the room before landing gently in front of Danny. Danny clapped his hands in glee, and Sam and Tucker were in absolute amazement.

"Dude, that was awesome!" Tucker exclaimed.

Maddie and Jack shared a look.  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Another five years later, and it was Danny's 11th birthday. Maddie was having a difficult time staying engaged with her son throughout his special day. Too much of her mind was already occupied with something else.

It was July 31st, the last day before August. Maddie frowned. If she remembered correctly, Lily's letter had come before August, which had given her parents plenty of time to both adjust to the idea of Lily learning magic and buy all her school supplies before she went off to Hogwarts. Maddie had constantly watched the sky all summer, waiting for an owl to come swooping down to deliver her son's letter. Maddie had been fraught with anxiety all summer, trying to figure out how best to explain why his letter would say "Potter" instead of "Fenton". Jack had repeatedly assured her that they would find the right words to say, and that their love for Danny would show why they had kept this secret from him. Maddie disagreed. She had felt so betrayed by her parents when she found out that Santa wasn't real, so how much more hurt would Danny feel when he found out they weren't even his real parents? However, Maddie had kept herself from bringing this up to Jack. The Santa thing was bound to bring up yet another argument between the two of them.

And so, when her head hit the pillow that night, Maddie Fenton was thoroughly confused. Why hadn't an owl come to deliver her son's school letter? He had repeatedly shown signs of magic growing up, the flying rocket being the first to come to mind but certainly not the last. Were things different in America? Perhaps Danny would be attending a different school than Lily had. Or perhaps Maddie and Jack had misread the signs? Maybe Danny didn't have magic after all…  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Three years later, Danny was in the lab with his best friends, Sam and Tucker. They had convinced him to show them the ghost portal that his parents were working on. Danny had tried to convince them that it was nothing special; it really just looked like a giant metal hole in a wall. But his friends had kept pressing, and finally Danny had relented and agreed to show them when his parents were not home. Besides, it was just another summer day and they did not have anything else to do. Technically, Danny was not allowed to be in the lab, let alone bring anyone, without his parents present. They claimed that what they worked on was dangerous, especially since they worked with ectoplasm a lot. Danny was not sure that he believed them. The "ectoplasm" really just looked like the kind of slime that kids make when they are learning about science. The only noticeable difference was that the slime his parents worked with glowed.

Danny felt somewhat embarrassed while Sam and Tucker gazed in amazement at the portal.

Sam looked at Danny and smiled. "You have to get a picture with it, Danny!"

"What?" Danny said, surprised. "Why?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Danny, it's a portal to the Ghost Zone! When your parents get this thing to work, you need proof that you were here to witness it!"

Danny shrugged. "I guess…" Despite his uncertainty, Danny walked over to the rack where his family's hazmat suits hung. He grabbed a white suit with black details on it off the rack. "I guess I might as well look the part if I'm going to be standing next to a ghost portal." Danny gave a nervous laugh.

Sam grinned. She took out her phone and pointed it at Danny. "Smile!" She said.

"Wait, what?" Danny muttered, confused. He had thought he would get a little more warning than that. The camera flashed, and Danny was certain he looked like an idiot in the picture.

Danny frowned. "Alright, we've seen the portal. My parents say it doesn't even work anyway."

"Come on, Danny, you're not the least bit curious?" Sam asked. "Your parents said it could lead to a Ghost Zone! You gotta at least check it out."

Danny turned towards the portal. "You know what? You're right. Who knows what kind of awesome things are on the other side?" Danny grinned in excitement. He pulled on the hazmat suit (although he mentally cringed as he did so) and began to walk towards the portal. "Well? How do I look?"

Sam walked up to him. "Hang on," she said. She pulled off a picture of his dad that was on the front of the suit. "You don't want to walk around with that on your chest."

"Thanks," Danny said with a nervous laugh. He turned back towards the portal. He suddenly felt horribly anxious. He looked back at his friends, but did not want to chicken out at this stage. Besides, what could happen? Danny walked into the portal. Despite his trepidation, everything seemed fine so far. That is, until his foot caught on a wire and he fell forward, of course. In an attempt to catch himself, Danny flung his arms out to the walls of the portal. Unfortunately, his hand managed to hit the "on" button.

All at once, the portal flared with bright green energy. Danny was blinded by the light, but his eyes were forced shut as electricity began pouring through his body. His veins felt like they were on fire. Faintly, Danny could hear Sam and Tucker calling his name. Thank goodness they didn't come in with me, Danny thought. If anyone was going to go through this kind of pain, he would rather it was him.

Just as Danny felt he could not bear it anymore, just as he began to feel his soul slipping away, his heart was filled with an overwhelming sense of love. Danny began to see a kind of golden light surrounding him, and he opened his eyes as much as he dared. He could see a faint image of a women with fire red hair, and was surprised when he felt like he knew her. Somehow, strength surged through Danny's legs. He pulled himself up and walked, painfully, to the edge of the portal. Once he made it out, he fell to the ground. He could feel his friends trying to help him up, but had already begun to fade into the darkness…  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was now almost four months later. Danny Fenton was 14, and he was happier than he had been in months. He had convinced the ghosts to help turn the Earth intangible to prevent a giant asteroid (courtesy of Vlad) from destroying the Earth just three months prior in April. It was now the middle of July, about two weeks away from Danny's birthday. Danny had been unable to stop smiling throughout the past three months. He now was dating the girl of his dreams, Sam Manson. He still could not believe that he had been so afraid of telling her how he felt, but was so grateful that he had finally find the courage three months ago. The two of them had been spending as much time together as possible, and every day together seemed more perfect than the last. Danny realized how gushy he sounded, and shrugged it off. So, what? He deserved to be happy after everything he had been through.

Another amazing thing was that his parents finally accepted him—both sides of him! It had been exhausting keeping his ghost half a secret from his parents. It had even been painful at times to hear his mom and dad talk so negatively about Phantom. After his parents had found out who he was, they had had a long talk. Danny explained how the accident had happened, and why certain events had made him look like a villain. His parents were surprisingly patient and open-minded while Danny told them about the half of his life he had hidden from them for so long. Once the conversation was done, Danny felt so much lighter than before. He had felt so much guilt for keeping his ghost half a secret, and was grateful he never needed to again.

Surprisingly, the whole world had been accepting of him. Sure, he still heard from scientists that wanted to study him in order to learn more about him and he still received hate mail from people who refused to see ghosts as anything but evil, but this was a price Danny was willing to pay to be able to embrace his whole identity. Even the ghosts had given him a break! He was sure they would start coming back soon, but in the meantime, Danny was more rested than he had been in ages.

Danny smiled as he looked up into the cloudless, clear sky. The temperature was warm, but the winds that blew past him as he flew kept him cool enough. It definitely helped to have an ice core at times. The sun had begun its final descent, painting the sky in shades of pinks, purples, and golds. Danny supposed that he should be heading back home. He was sure his mom would kill him if he was late for dinner again, especially since she knew no ghosts were out to keep him busy. Danny began the journey back home, which was sure to be a short one. Within minutes, Danny was flying through the roof of his home. He landed gently in the front of the house and allowed the bright blue rings to pass over him and turn him back into Danny Fenton.

"I'm home!" Danny called, peeking into the kitchen. He quirked his eyebrow as he realized no one was in there. He had been certain that dinner would be ready by this time, but maybe they were ordering pizza instead? Danny's stomach growled at the thought.

"Danny?" Danny's mother called. "We're in the living room. Could you come here please?" Danny frowned. Last time he had been summoned to the living room in this way, he had been grounded for missing curfew once again. That had been months ago.

"Coming," Danny said, hesitantly. He walked around the corner into the living room. There he saw his father with his arms around his mother, who was quietly sobbing. She was holding an old-looking piece of paper, which was confusing. His parents were very technologically savvy people, what use could they have for old paper like that? "What's wrong?" Danny asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. He hardly ever saw his mother cry. He could count the number of times on one hand, with the most recent being when she found out that they had been hunting their own son in his ghost form.

"Oh, Danny," his mother sniffed. She rubbed her tears away with the back of her hand. "I think it's time we finally told you the truth."


	3. Chapter 3

Danny stood on the opposite side of the living from his parents, staring at the morose scene before him. His father was holding his mother gently, encompassing her with all the compassion and empathy that comes hand-in-hand with true love. His brow was twisted with concern, and the frown that besmirched his face was the deepest that Danny had ever seen on him. Jack was always fiercely joyful and exuberant. His energy had a way of filling whatever room he was in, which was usually painfully embarrassing for Danny. At this moment, however, the absence of that energy was poignant, forcing Danny to realize that this may be the most difficult conversation he would ever have with his parents.

Danny crossed the living room over to the couch that his two parents were sitting on. He slowly sat down on the ottoman, facing his parents. He desperately wanted to say something to break the silence only filled with his mother's soft sobs, but his voice felt stuck in his throat. Danny coughed slightly to ease the pressure in his throat, which helped him find words.

"Uh, Mom? Dad? Are you guys okay?" Danny asked, his wide blue eyes bouncing between the two faces before him.

Maddie sniffed and glanced down at the letter in her hands but did not respond. Danny briefly wondered who his mother knew that would send her a letter that looked like a piece of old parchment.

"Uh, what did you mean by tell me the truth?" Danny asked. He was unable to take full breaths and felt like his lungs had shrunk drastically from the anxiety coursing through his body. He felt his hands shaking and sat on them to make it less obvious. He was Danny Phantom, he was supposed to be the brave hero. He had faced dangerous enemies and ghosts ten times as powerful as him, and yet this moment of uncertainty was making him feel uneasy and antsy.

Maddie looked up at Jack, her eyes red and puffy from her tears. Jack gave her hand a squeeze, willing some of his strength into her. She looked at her son and gave him a small smile. She placed the old letter on the end table next to their couch.

"Danny, I have something important to tell you. It's something I've tried to protect you from your entire life, but I think the time has finally come for you to know. It's going to take a bit of explaining, though, so I'm going to start at the beginning." Maddie stated, her voice hoarse. Danny nodded, but didn't say anything. That statement certainly hadn't calmed him down.

Maddie took a deep breath. "Danny, this might be hard to hear, but we adopted you when you were about a year old."

Danny felt the blood from his face. "What?" He asked, unable to articulate anything else.

Maddie and Jack both nodded, smiling gently at their adopted son. "We promise you, son, it's never impacted how we think about you. We love you and we are absolutely so proud of you." Jack spoke up. Danny smiled, but didn't speak. He couldn't find words.

Maddie took a deep breath and continued. "Jack and I are technically your aunt and uncle. You are my sister's son."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Really? I'm Aunt Alicia's son?" This was surprising. They had visited Aunt Alicia almost every year since he could remember, and not once had this ever been mentioned.

"No, you're not," Maddie smiled. "You see, I actually have three sisters. We were all born in Britain. I moved here to pursue a degree in Paranormal Science. If you can believe it, the University of Wisconsin was the only university in the world that offered the degree!"

Danny grimaced. This was actually not too surprising in his opinion.

"Anyway," Maddie stated, moving past her own disbelief. "My sisters, Petunia and Lily, stayed in Britain. Petunia lives there still, with her husband Vernon and her son. I think his name is Duncan? I'm not sure, we stopped speaking to each other when I moved to the U.S. She strongly disapproved of my decision to study ghosts, and did not hesitate to tell me so repeatedly." Maddie frowned.

"My sister Lily and I were rather close. She was always so supportive of me, she was everything you could want in an older sister. Although, I would dare to guess that Jazz comes pretty close." Maddie smiled. Danny smiled in response. Yes, Jazz was quite possibly the best sister on the planet.

"Lily went to… Well, she went to a different school than Petunia, Alicia, and me. She met her husband, James, while she was there. They graduated together and got married a year later. They had twin boys a year later." At this, Maddie reached forward and cupped Danny's face with her hand.

"You mean, me?" Danny said, surprised. "I have a brother?" Danny smiled at the thought. He had always wanted a brother.

Maddie's smile dropped. "Well…yes. You do. You need to understand, Danny, we didn't know he was alive until a few minutes before you got home."

Danny's brows scrunched together. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Maddie looked at Jack, who smiled sadly at her. When she looked back at Danny, her eyes were glistening with fresh tears. "That's the thing, Danny. This is what we wanted to protect you from. You see… Lily and James were murdered on Halloween night when you were just a year old."

"Oh," Danny said. "That sucks." His heart suddenly felt hollow; he hadn't realized just how much he had been wanting to meet them until that hope was dashed away.

Maddie nodded. "Yes. It sucks." She took another deep breath. "I was there that night. I had been visiting them because I had heard that they were potentially in danger. I didn't completely understand how, or from what, but I wanted to be there for my sister in whatever way I could. I thought I could help her take care of her babies and take some pressure off of her. I had been holding you, Danny, when I heard the front door blast open. James started screaming, and I did the only thing I could think of doing. I escaped with you in my arms, and I ran as far as I possibly could."

Danny's face was pale; hearing about his parents' murders and his narrow escape was difficult for him to process.

He shook his head, trying to think. "Wait," Danny said. "If they knew they were in danger, why didn't they just contact the police? Couldn't they have gone into, I don't know, witness protection or something?"

"They did, in a way," Maddie said. "They did what they could. Everything that they could have, really. Contacting the police wouldn't have made a difference, though."

"Why not?" Danny asked. This was getting confusing. He had kept a pretty big secret for months, he could tell when someone wasn't telling the whole truth. What was his mother hiding?

"Well," Maddie bit her lip. "This is probably the biggest secret we've ever kept from you. I swear we kept this from you to protect you. We didn't want to worry you with this if it wasn't necessary. Do you remember when I told you that Lily had attended a different school from the rest of us?"

Danny nodded. Maddie continued. "The reason Lily went to that school was to learn magic."

Danny blanched. "Wait, what?"

Maddie nodded. "I know, it was pretty hard for the rest of us to believe, too. She had received a letter from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry when she was eleven years old. My parents didn't know what to think until one of the professors from the school came to our house to prove that magic was real. It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen at the time…" His mother drifted off into reminiscence. She blinked and continued. "Anyway, she went to this school, learned magic, had a wand, the whole shebang. She met your father there, who was also a wizard."

Danny felt somewhat strange when his mother referred to this James person as his father. He still had not completely adjusted to the idea of being adopted. Nor had he accepted that he was an orphan… and had a brother he had never met.

"Lily had been so excited and happy about learning magic, and every year she came home with more exciting stories for me and Petunia. However, she also told us about the fear that was prevalent throughout the wizarding community," Maddie continued. "There was an evil, dangerous man who had been recruiting followers. People were so terrified that they never even said his name. To this day, I still do not know what his name was. Anyway, for some reason, Lily and James had known they were in danger. They had done some kind of magic to protect you all, but somehow, on that Halloween night, he got past their defenses."

Danny's brows scrunched together. "You mean, this evil wizard guy was the one who killed my parents?"

Maddie nodded sadly. "Yes, Danny, he did. He was there the night that I escaped with you. I hadn't known what to do. You see, the police wouldn't have known how to fight against magic, and they probably would have just thought I was crazy anyway if I told them about what happened. So, I hid with you for a while, hoping to hear some news about what had happened. I was so worried, I didn't know what to do. I couldn't go back to the house with you, I couldn't do anything to protect myself and I didn't want to risk bringing you back into danger. I knew that your parents had friends, but I had no idea how to contact them. So, I got a hotel room and grabbed the newspaper first thing in the morning to see if there was any news. It took a couple days, but soon I found the article saying that Lily and James had been found dead, with their sons nowhere to be found." Maddie looked down, her eyes watering. "I thought… I thought your brother must have been killed, as well. I panicked, and I took you home with me. I figured that he would be looking for you too, and I thought taking you out of the country was your best bet. That's how you came to live with us." Maddie smiled softly.

"Okay… I think I understand. But what happened with my brother? Why did it take so long for you to find out he was still alive?" Danny asked.

"Well," Maddie said. "I thought that if there had been any trace of them, they would have found us. I know that there is some way they can trace magic, and I thought that they would hone in on you and let us know if there was any way that he had survived."

"Me?"

"Yes. Both of your parents had magic, we thought that you would, too." Maddie looked at Jack, who gave her a reassuring nod. "I was expecting you to get a letter like my sister's around your eleventh birthday."

"Oh," Danny said. "I never did, otherwise I'm pretty sure I would remember it. I'm not that clueless."

Maddie laughed. "Yes, and when you didn't, we thought that somehow, you didn't have the magic that your parents did."

"Okay," Danny said. "So, I don't have magic. I think I have enough on my plate without that to worry about, too." Danny laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"That's the thing," Maddie said quietly, looking down at the old parchment in her hands. "Apparently, we were wrong about that, too."


	4. Chapter 4

Danny sat, invisible, on the top of the Ops Center. He gazed up at the stars, focusing on finding as many different constellations as he could. Mentally, he listed their names as his eyes traced the patterns in the sky. There's Hercules… Scorpius... the Corona Borealis… Draco… Apus… Danny sighed. Usually, gazing at the night sky was calming to him. It was comforting to know that, as crazy as life could get, the stars were constant. Well, not constant if you acknowledged that the stars would live and die, too, but constant enough. There would not be any drastic changes during his lifetime, at least. He had come out here to try and calm his mind down so that he could try and process what he had learned tonight with a more rational mindset. If he was struggling with a problem, be it with school, ghosts, or relationships, Danny had always found comfort in the stars. He had always been drawn to space, and the stillness of the night helped ease his anxiety and put everything into perspective. Tonight, however, this just was not working.

Danny sighed. Hurt, betrayal, curiosity, loss, anger, hope… These feelings kept punching him in the face, demanding to be considered, as the words of his parents'—no, not his parents, they were his aunt and uncle—revelations echoed through his mind.

You're adopted… We did this to protect you… Your parents died when you were a baby… They were trying to protect you… We just found out your brother is alive…

Danny shook his head, trying to force his parents out of his mind. Huffing, Danny returned to naming the constellations. Hercules… Scorpius… the Corona Borealis… Why had they lied to him? Kept all of this from him? He had a right to know about his parents and brother, didn't he?

Stop it, Danny, He mentally chided himself. Hercules… Scorpius… And how could they not tell him that magic existed? That it was in his family? That he might have it?! Danny shook his head once more and gave up on his attempts to name the constellations. Clearly, he was not in the right headspace for this. Which was the point of coming out here in the first place… But whatever. He stood up, maintaining his invisibility, and made his way to climb down the Ops Center. Usually, he would not have bothered with invisibility, but the last thing he needed right now was for stupid paparazzi getting pictures of him when he was upset. The media, he had learned, had a way of twisting everything to suit their purposes, which was mainly causing drama, so people will buy whatever article they were selling.

Danny phased through his bedroom wall and threw himself on his bed. He was angry, yes, but the important thing right now was to think about what he was going to do next. His parents had told him that they had received a letter from Albert Dinosaur or something like that who said to them that Danny did, in fact, have magic. Danny had a spot at the magic school his parents had attended if he wanted it. Dinosaur guy wrote that he would be coming by tomorrow evening to discuss everything in person. If he had been anyone else, this probably would have been exciting news. But when you're a half-ghost hero who protected the town from ghost attacks, your priorities tended to shift a little. Now, since he had saved the world just months ago, it seemed like every person on the planet was watching him. It was not the time to have family drama, let alone travel halfway around the world to meet his estranged twin and study magic. Everyone in the whole damn world would know about it immediately, and whatever privacy he currently had in this situation would be lost.

Sometimes, he wished he had realized cameras were broadcasting live footage when he revealed himself to his parents. It had been stupid, really, not to notice them. He had been so caught up in the moment, felt so confident after literally saving the world that it seemed like the perfect time to tell his parents the truth. Sure, there had been other people there, but he was sure they could convince them to keep his secret. But nope. He had transformed in front of virtually the entire world. Everyone knew who—and what—he was now. He should have known there would be those cameras. Why wouldn't cameras be filming the whole thing? He was beginning to understand why Tucker and Sam called him clueless…

Oh well. Nothing he could do about it now. At the very least, his parents' business had benefitted from the revelation. They were now highly sought after, not only for their inventions but for their expertise as well. He was so happy for them—he had always known his parents were geniuses, albeit crazy and embarrassing, and they were finally getting the respect they deserved. The whole no secret, no privacy thing just really sucked for situations like these.

The whole magic thing was cool, yeah, but he really just wanted to meet his brother. His twin brother, who, according to Albert Dinosaur, had no idea he existed and essentially thought himself alone in the world. He was excited at the thought of having a brother, but the main reason he wanted to meet him was that his brother did not know he existed, or that he had family outside of his aunt and uncle in the United Kingdom. The very thought of being in that situation made Danny feel lonely, which pulled at his core to protect. He could help his brother if he could only just meet him, maybe make him feel a little less alone in the world. Stupid Obsession messing with things. This was a hard enough decision without its meddling.

Danny was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door. He heard the door creak open slightly. "Danny?" His sister called softly.

Danny sighed. "Hey, Jazz."

Jazz took his response as an invitation and stepped softly over to his bed. She sat gently on the side of the bed, gazing at him with concern. He was convinced that was her default mode with him. Concern.

"I just wanted to check-in and see how you're doing," She prodded. "Mom and Dad told me about what happened."

"You don't seem surprised," Danny commented, quirking an eyebrow. Had she known?

Jazz flushed. Well, that was all the answer he needed then. "You knew," He stated.

Jazz squirmed, clearly uncomfortable. "I… suspected. Mom and Dad never told me. I just noticed that there were a lot of pictures of Mom pregnant with me and me when I was first born, but I never could find any of you. I didn't know anything for sure, but I had guessed."

"Oh," Danny snorted. "I never even realized that. Now I feel like an idiot."

"You're not an idiot, Danny," Jazz mollified, "Mom and Dad told me the story about your parents. That's not something anyone could guess."

Danny nodded but did not say anything. He felt like he was out of words.

"So… magic, huh?" Jazz whispered, excitement and awe evident in her voice.

Danny groaned. "Yep. Magic."

When he didn't respond, Jazz prodded, "And magic school?"

"I don't know, Jazz," Danny sighed in exasperation. "Aren't ghost powers enough?"

"Well, yeah, I guess," Jazz stammered. She shrunk in on herself, like a child who was being scolded for eating the last of the cake without sharing. "I just… I mean, you have to admit it's exciting, right? We've grown up hearing all about scientific explanations for everything, only to find out that magic is real! And it's in you!"

"Jazz," Danny said patiently. "I have enough on my plate as it is. I can't afford to just leave everyone to deal with the ghosts on their own while I'm gallivanting in Europe."

"Gallivanting?" Jazz asked, chuckling.

"What? It sounds like a magic word! I mean, because knights would go gallivanting… and stuff," Danny ended awkwardly as his sister roared with laughter.

"Sorry, Danny," She said. "I've just never heard you use that word before."

Now it was Danny's turn to blush. "I know big words! I just don't get to study them as much as you do."

"Fair enough," Jazz shrugged. "Still, I would have thought you would want to go to meet your brother. I mean, he is your twin after all. I'm definitely excited to meet him, and he's just my cousin!"

"Just your cousin," Danny wilted.

"Oh, Danny, stop," Jazz consoled. "You're my little brother. You always will be. I don't care if DNA says we're cousins, I'm never going to stop being your annoying older sister." To emphasize her point, she reached over to grab his cheek.

"Hey, stop!" He smacked her hand away before going intangible and moving out of her reach. Jazz rolled her eyes in response. "Yeah, I do want to meet him. But I have responsibilities here. I'm the only one who can protect the town."

"Geeze, you really have an inflated sense of self," Jazz teased. "Really? You're the only one? The rest of us are just defenseless little puppies?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean. I might want to go meet him, but everyone would know right away that I left Amity. The ghosts would know, and Amity would be wide open for an attack. I don't get why he couldn't just come here, anyway." Danny frowned.

"Well, that's one sure-fire way to make sure he's in the spotlight. Everyone will want interviews from him, pictures, quotes, you name it. If people see an identical you walking around, then the media will make sure he never gets a moment to himself."

"I guess you're right," Danny admitted.

"Of course I am," Jazz beamed. "If he's anything like you, he would probably hate the attention. As for people knowing you left Amity, they probably will notice pretty quickly. But no one said anything about them having to know where you went."

"What do you mean? Of course, they would know!"

"Not necessarily," Jazz countered. "We could tell them you're meeting with your allies in the Ghost Zone. It's a totally valid possibility. Then no one would suspect that you were really in Britain!"

"Maybe," Danny mumbled. "I just… I feel torn, alright? I don't know what the right thing to do is."

Jazz looked at him in sympathy, seeming to guess what he was thinking about. "Ghost thing, huh?"

Danny blushed, looked down, and nodded. His Obsession wasn't something he usually talked about willingly. It was, unfortunately, one of the theories his parents had gotten right. This meant that it was among the first things they had asked him about when he revealed himself as Phantom to them. Danny had brushed them off, he had tried to make it sound like he did not have one. He pointed out that they had already known he was different from most ghosts, anyway, in the hopes that they would assume this was another one of those differences. Judging by the look his parents had exchanged, they did not believe him in the slightest. Since that day, they had not asked him about it again, for which Danny was grateful. He suspected that Jazz had something to do with that. Danny still had not told her about it either, nor Sam or Tucker. They could probably guess what it was, but it was something they did not talk about or ask about, and he certainly did not share. Maybe that was another thing his parents had gotten right. Ghosts tended to be pretty private about certain things, Obsessions included.

"Like I said, I have responsibilities here. I want to meet my brother. Mom and Dad—" He paused, once more questioning if he should be calling them that still. "They told me that he does not know I'm alive, or that they are either, apparently. The guy that wrote them that letter apparently wanted them to decide if they wanted him to know or not. I just… Based on what was in that letter, he's got to be pretty lonely, and I know I could help in some way if I met him."

Jazz nodded in understanding. "Well, maybe there's a middle option. That guy's coming here tomorrow night, right? Maybe we could ask him about some different options. That way, you wouldn't have to feel so torn."

Danny smiled softly at her. "Thanks, Jazz. I guess… I guess we could do that." He tried to ignore that fact that this man was a complete stranger to him, and so he had no understanding of if he could be trusted or not. He would worry about it tomorrow. For now, he was enjoying the fact that his sister was there for him, and would support him in whatever he chose.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, all! Before this chapter kicks off, I want to say that I do not stand with J.K. Rowling's statements about the trans community. Happy Pride month!
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter! :) Also, I do not own Danny Phantom or Harry Potter in any way.

Danny was nervous. Albus Dumbledore-his parents had corrected him when he called him Albus Dinosaur-would be here any minute. Danny could not believe it. None of it seemed real to him, and everything seemed to be happening so fast. Just last night, he had found out that he was adopted, his parents were dead, he had a twin brother, and-oh, yeah, he might have magic. It really seemed like something out of a dream. No wonder he was pacing in his room.

Sam and Tucker sure had not believed him at first. Sam had scoffed when he mentioned magic, saying, "Well, now I know you're playing a prank on us." Danny loved her, but she had not made the revelation any easier to tell. It took a lot of convincing and a lot of promises that he was telling the truth to convince his friends. It had been a relief when they finally believed him, but not much of one. Now, he had to talk to them about possibly visiting the United Kingdom to meet his brother.

They both had been supportive, of course, but he could tell they were a little anxious about him leaving. Hell, he was anxious about leaving. This was his town, these were his people, and he...He was leaving them. Even if it was only for a little while, the thought of something happening in his absence made his hands shake. His core seemed to be yelling at him to stay, to not leave his haunt and risk someone getting hurt. He couldn't bear it if Sam got hurt… The thought brought him to a halt.

Danny shook his head and resumed pacing. He had no idea what to expect from this visit. Part of him was worried that this Dumbledore guy would expect him to leave tonight, and that simply was out of the question. He had not even decided yet if he was going to leave Amity Park at all. If he was, he had a lot of planning to do. He needed to check in with Valerie, his parents, and Sam, Tucker, and Jazz. He needed to make plans on how to contact them and vice versa so that if something were to happen, he could return to Amity Park as soon as possible. If he was going to leave, which was still undecided, then he was going to do everything in his power to make sure his people were safe. He would need to talk to his allies in the Ghost Zone as well so that they could help out in an emergency or help him keep tabs on his town.

The doorbell rang downstairs, and Danny felt his breath leave him. He was perfectly still, nothing but his slow heartbeat creating any movement at all. He heard someone answer the door and closed his eyes, waiting for his cue. It came all too soon for Danny's taste.

"Danny-boy!" Jack called up the stairs. "Come down here and meet our guest!"

Danny nodded to steady himself. His dad sounded excited, which he tried to take as a good sign. His father was usually happy and exuberant, but he was seriously protective of him and Jazz. He trusted that if his father thought they had something to worry about, he would make sure Danny knew.

Danny braced himself, then opened his door and walked down the stairs. At the door, he saw his dad, standing tall and eagerly shaking the hand of a rather old looking man. Danny thought he was the spitting image of Gandalf, which normally would have made him chuckle in a less stressful situation. The man was smiling kindly, apparently amused by Jack's enthusiasm. His mother was standing next to him, and glanced up to notice Danny.

"Hi, Danny! This is Professor Dumbledore, who we were telling you about. Come down and say hi!" Maddie said. Danny could hear the forced excitement in her voice. So, she was nervous, too. Surprisingly, that kind of made him feel better.

Danny trotted down the rest of the stairs, trying not to look at his family or the strange man there to meet him. He could feel everyone's eyes on him and had to resist the urge to become invisible. He was grateful he had a lot of experience not using his powers in his human form.

"Hello, Daniel," The man said, his voice calm and warm. Danny glanced up, met the man's eyes briefly, before ducking his head back down. Here he was, Amity Park's hero, and he was doing his best not to make eye contact with a stranger. He felt ridiculous.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He glanced up to see his sister Jazz, who had come from the kitchen behind him to give him support. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. He could do this.

Steeling himself, he looked back up at the visitor. "Hi," he said. It was one word, but he was proud of himself for not hiding behind Jazz immediately after giving the greeting.

"It's been a while, Daniel. The last time I saw you was at your first birthday party," the man said.

"Oh," Danny said, his voice small. The same weird feeling he always got when adults commented on how much he's grown came over him. It made him feel awkward and he never really knew what the right response was.

"I must say, you've grown to be the spitting image of your father," the man continued when Danny did not say anything further. Confused, Danny glanced up at Jack. No one had ever told him he resembled him at all, except for the fact that they both had black hair. Jack smiled sadly, and Danny realized that the man must have meant his biological father. Well, that made him feel even weirder than he already had.

"Oh," Danny said again, his face heating up. He did not know what to think about looking like someone he could not even remember. A brief silence came over the group before Jazz clapped her hands.

"Alright, well, I just finished making some cookies, so maybe we could head to the living room and get a little more comfortable and I'll bring the food out. Also, Professor Dumbledore, please tell me if I'm stereotyping, but I made some tea, as well. Would you like some?" Jazz said, bringing order to the awkward meeting.

"Tea would be excellent, thank you," Dumbledore said. Jazz turned back to the kitchen, and Danny followed his parents and the strange man into their living room. He sat in the armchair that was cattycorner to the two couches, purposefully avoiding having to sit next to the visitor. He felt a little guilty about that, but he figured he deserved something that could make him more comfortable right now. Jazz would be proud.

Jazz came back from the kitchen with a tray of warm chocolate-chip cookies. She went back to get drinks for everyone, and the group sat in silence as they waited. Danny's mother passed the tray of cookies to him, and he grabbed a cookie to have an excuse for not talking. The melty chocolate flavor filled his mouth, and Danny was grateful Jazz was the one who had done the baking. He could not detect even a hint of ectoplasm, which meant that they would be safe for their guest to eat. Jazz brought him a can of soda to drink, and Danny snuck a glance at the visitor while she handed him his tea. He thanked her and continued to smile softly. Danny could not decide if that smile was comforting or slightly creepy. He had never met anyone before who maintained a smile for that long. He wondered if he was trying to appear non-threatening or if he always smiled like that.

Jazz sat down next to him, and Danny felt a twinge of guilt that she had to sit next to the stranger. She seemed perfectly comfortable, however, and Danny wondered if she was trying to make him feel safer by pretending everything was normal. Either way, he was thankful.

"Well," the visitor said after he had taken a sip of the tea. "This tea is simply splendid, thank you my dear." He smiled at Jazz, who blushed.

"Oh, it's just a tea bag… We're not normally tea drinkers so I just went with what we had," Jazz explained.

"All the same, thank you," the man replied. "I supposed I should formally introduce myself. My name is Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, and I am the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You may call me Professor Dumbledore. I believe you are familiar with the school, Madeline?"

Maddie nodded. "Yes, that's the school my sister attended. I only know it by name though, I've never visited myself."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, muggles, or non-magical folk, are not able to visit Hogwarts. The school has a number of protective spells to protect the students. It is a shame, however. I do wish that more of our muggle-born students' families would be able to visit. If it makes you feel better at all, most of our students' families do not visit Hogwarts unless they were students themselves. We believe that it helps our students to develop their own identities as young witches and wizards."

Danny's family nodded, as if in understanding. He wondered if this was going over their heads as much as it was going over his. He frowned at the word Dumbledore had used to describe people who did not have magic. It sounded like a slur, and he did not appreciate that it was being used so flippantly to describe his family and friends. He knew well how othering terms like that could be. Perhaps he had misunderstood…?

When no one spoke, Dumbledore continued. "Daniel," Danny's head snapped up at the sound of his name. Dumbledore was looking at him, and Danny felt as if his blue eyes were piercing into him. He squirmed. "Your parents, Lily and James Potter, attended Hogwarts to study magic, as Madeline said. Your brother, Harry, is currently a student there as well. Because of your family, you should have received a letter from Hogwarts when you were eleven, inviting you to come and study at Hogwarts. I am sorry that did not happen."

Danny shrugged in response. He was not sure even his eleven-year-old self would have been willing to leave Amity. He was still half-convinced that he was dreaming or in a coma or something.

"Why is that?" Maddie asked, leaning forward. "We noticed… Well, Jack and I had noticed a couple of things that reminded me of what Lily did when she was younger. We were really surprised when he didn't get a letter. We figured it was because we were in America and the rules were different."

"Excellent question," Dumbledore nodded. "To be perfectly honest, the magical community had believed Daniel Potter was dead, murdered alongside his parents. He was never found, and so that had seemed to be the most logical conclusion. I, of course, always had my suspicions," Dumbledore stated, eyes twinkling. "Although those suspicions were not confirmed until I saw him, alive, on the muggle news."

Danny felt like his heart was in his throat. So, Dumbledore knew. He wasn't sure if that made him feel more or less comfortable.

"As for why Daniel was not found before then, I can only guess that this location blocked his magical powers from popping up on MACUSA's radar. You chose this location because of the weak barrier between our world and the 'Ghost Zone', as you call it, correct?"

"Yes, we did," Maddie confirmed, nodding with Jack. "The research we did in college led us here because we believed it was the most likely location for the portal to work."

"Ah," Dumbledore remarked, nodding. "Yes. That makes sense, then. I would guess that the mixed energy between the two worlds overshadowed Daniel's magical signature, so to speak. Alas, we may never know." Dumbledore took a sip of his tea. "I suppose I should discuss why I am here tonight. Daniel, as a Potter, you have a right to study at Hogwarts. It would be an excellent way to get to know the world of your parents and your brother, as well. It is, of course, your decision, but I feel that you should have a clear picture of what you would be getting into before you choose either way."

Danny frowned. "What do you mean?" He had been ready to launch into a list of reasons for why he could not go to this weirdly-named magic school, but Dumbledore's statement caught him off-guard.

"I mean, Daniel, that the Wizarding World is currently in danger," Dumbledore stated, expression growing serious. "It may not be safe for you to come to Hogwarts. I fear that it may compromise the safety you have found here in Amity Park."

Danny scoffed quietly before he could stop himself. Safety? He was half-dead and attacked on a daily basis, but sure, he was perfectly safe. This guy clearly did not have a complete understanding of what his life looked like.

"What do you mean? How would he be in danger?" Maddie asked, grabbing hold of Jack's hand.

Dumbledore sighed. "He's back, Madeline."

"No," Maddie said, fear evident in her voice. Her face had gone white. Jack pulled her closer to him, trying to show support for his wife.

"Danny is safe from him here? He wouldn't be able to find him?" Jack asked.

"I am afraid I am uncertain. Up until now, the magical community was unaware of Daniel's survival. I am unsure how widespread news of his survival has spread now. It is possible that Voldemort does not know Daniel is alive and here in Amity Park. I cannot guarantee that, however, but I can guarantee that he would know were Daniel to attend Hogwarts. It is likely that Voldemort would seek to kill him. He may also come here, although his attacks have previously not spread to the United States. I cannot guarantee what he will do." Dumbledore said sadly.

"I'm not going," Danny stated firmly. His family turned to look at him, and Danny got the sense that they had almost forgotten he was present.

"Danny… I think it's important to think about what that would mean. Meeting your brother and going to school could be an important way to feel connected-" Jazz began.

"No, Jazz," Danny said, cutting her off. "Yeah, I mean, it would be cool, and I really want to get to meet Harry, but I can't do that and put all of you in danger. All of Amity Park in danger! It would be selfish, and I… I can't…" Danny noticed Jazz's eyes flick down to his chest and back up to his face. He realized he had subconsciously raised his hands to his core, and willfully brought them back down. He felt exposed.

Dumbledore looked at him kindly. "I understand, Daniel, and I respect your desire to protect those you love. You do not have to attend Hogwarts. I should note that does not guarantee your family's safety, since word of your survival could have already reached him."

Danny nodded. If they ever came for him, then at least he would be there to protect his family.

Dumbledore continued. "However, that does not mean that you cannot meet your brother. You may come with me to a place that is hidden from everyone who has not been told of its whereabouts. No one would know about you or your presence in Britain other than those present, and I can promise you that no one there would compromise your anonymity. You could meet your brother, and maintain whatever the current awareness is of your existence."

Danny nodded again, this time slowly. "Can I...think about it? I mean, I'm sorry that you came here tonight and I'm kind of throwing off whatever plans you made, but it's a big decision, and I don't really know what to do and I need to think and maybe talk about it and-" Danny cut himself off when he realized he was rambling.

"Of course," Dumbledore nodded. "I would expect nothing less. I will remain in town until tomorrow evening, and then I will come back to discuss whatever decision you make at this time tomorrow. After all, it's been a long time since I have been in the States, and apparating across the Atlantic does take a fair amount of energy. This will give me some time to relax and attend to a couple of other matters. How does that sound?"

"Uh, that sounds great. Thanks," Danny said awkwardly. A day was not exactly how much time he was thinking of, but he felt weird asking an elder to work around his schedule.

"Alright, then," Dumbledore said, standing. "It was lovely to meet you, Daniel, and you as well, Madeline, Jack, and Jazmine. I am glad we will have a reason to meet again tomorrow. Thank you for the tea, Jazmine, it was delightful!"

Jazz took the teacup and blushed. "Oh, no problem, it was nothing."

Dumbledore smiled at them all. "I will see myself out. I can tell you have a lot to process. Until tomorrow," Dumbledore said, inclining his head in farewell. The Fenton family nodded back, a little slowly, with the confused looks of someone that had just been woken from a deep sleep.

Danny watched the man calmly open the door, close it, and heard a faint pop. He groaned and put his head in his hands. His life was never simple.


End file.
